AMHERST - When Tony Gaffney woke up this morning and heard his coach was leaving, he didn't believe it at first.

"We didn't see this coming," the University of Massachusetts men's basketball forward said tonight, soon after the announcement that coach Travis Ford had left for Oklahoma State, only six days after the school had apparently been assured he'd be staying for at least one more season.

The Republican file photo/Christopher EvansUniversity of Massachusetts basketball coach Travis Ford has decided to leave the Amherst, MA campus to become coach at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

"I don't want to feel betrayed, because we know this is a business," Gaffney said. "But it's still tough."

When Kansas coach Bill Self turned down Oklahoma State, though, the Cowboys called Ford, whose named had been circulated but never as a likely first choice.

"I felt we'd weathered the storm last week," UMass center Luke Bonner said. "I knew the coaching carousel hadn't stopped, but I didn't know this was on the radar."

The amount of Ford's new deal was not available, but it was clearly far above his UMass salary.

Ford was making about $400,000 at UMass, before the university boosted his package last week, by an undisclosed amount, to keep him from taking the Providence job.

UMass athletic director John McCutcheon said the school did not attempt to compete with the Oklahoma State offer.

"I think Travis understood that where we got to last time was a very aggressive approach for us," McCutcheon said.

Going any higher, he indicated, would have been impractical.

Ford did not attend last night's press conference at the Mullins Center.

"I have greatly enjoyed my three years here at UMass," he said in a written statement. "It was a very difficult decision to leave, one which my family and I struggled with mightily. I wish nothing but the best for the staff and players here at UMass."

Ford's assistants will remain at UMass until their status can be clarified, McCutcheon said. Meanwhile, the search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

Two popular names are those of Tony Barbee and Derek Kellogg, who played at UMass in the 1990s. Barbee is the head coach at the University of Texas at El Paso, and Kellogg is an assistant on John Calipari's University of Memphis staff.

McCutcheon did not mention any potential candidates by name, nor did he place a time frame on the selection process. He did say he favored sticking with the same style of offense that produced the nation's eighth-highest scoring machine last season

"That's very important to us," he said. "The players we have were brought in to play that style, and it was very effective."

McCutcheon said prior head coaching experience will be looked upon favorably, as it was in the 2005 hiring of Ford, who came to UMass from Eastern Kentucky University.

The Oklahoma State job became open when Sean Sutton resigned under pressure on April 1. The school originally sought Self, an OSU alumnus.

After winning the 2008 NCAA title, he decided to stay at Kansas.

McCutcheon said Oklahoma State never contacted him for permission to talk to Ford, but called the coach directly Monday night. Such a courtesy is common in college basketball, but not required.

Ford's UMass contract ran until 2014-15, with a $200,000 buyout clause. The buyout is based on Ford's previous contract, prior to the renegotiation that took place when he decided not to go to Providence.

McCutcheon said that is because the new agreement, which was in place for only a few days, was one in principle that never reached the signature stage.

Ford's 62-35 record in three UMass seasons included back-to-back National Invitation Tournament appearances in 2007 and 2008. Earlier this month, the Minutemen reached the NIT final for the first time in school history, losing 92-85 to Ohio State.

That capped a 25-11 season that ranks fifth all-time in single-season victories for a UMass team.